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Welcome back RotoBallers! It's confession time. I've made more money playing MLB DFS the last two days than I have playing KBO DFS for the last two weeks. Some of that is because I've crushed it on the MLB side, but it's also because I've cut back tremendously on my KBO play. However, I can't just quit cold turkey, so I still know my stuff. This is why I am going to preview the DraftKings KBO slates, including the upcoming 7/26/20 KBO DFS slate.
I think part of the reason I have cut back is there a few things I prefer more than sleeping. And confirming KBO DFS lineups is not one of them. I will wake up early later this week because I need to go to work. However, not tomorrow. I can promise I will not be up when this slate locks at 4:00 AM EST on Sunday, July 26, 2020. I like making 'em, not confirming 'em. But I would advise you to wake up before roster lock because those that do will likely have an advantage.
Another way to gain an advantage? Check out our RotoBaller Premium Slack chats. It's a great space to chat during the day about lineups and other options. I've been known to visit the chats at least once or twice a day, if not more. And it's not just my insights you will see on there, but other staff writers as well. Of course, you can always follow me the rest of the week on Twitter @MarkStrausberg for my KBO updates, as well as other picks for other sports if/when I post updates. Got it? Good. Tonight's slate doesn't give us all the pitching options as last night's slate did, but we still have some interesting choice to make for the 7/26/20 KBO DFS slate.
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KBO DFS Pitchers
I think there are maybe half as many pitchers tonight I'd be comfortable with as last night. But that's often the case when we got Korea's modern-day Nolan Ryan. That's right boys and girls, it's another Chang Mo Koo day!
I'm actually starting to run out of ways to describe how dominant Koo has been. Simply put, if I had the first pick in a KBO league right now, Koo would be my first overall pick and I'd trade my second, third, and fourth picks to acquire him. Is he worth the $10.8K cost that DraftKings put on him? Yes. I'd even go to $11K. It might happen very soon, but then he gets closer to $11.5, we'll re-evaluate. Until then, Koo and his 9-0 record, 92 Ks, and sparkling ratios are a must-play.
And that is despite taking on the KT Wiz tonight, one of the better offenses in the league. They are the only team that has touched up Koo for more than two runs. That was back in late June. All he did next time he faced them, which was his most recent start, was strike out ten and blank them over seven innings for his ninth victory.
All 10 of Koo Chang-mo's strikeouts today pic.twitter.com/KRs8Gg7sof
— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) July 18, 2020
Fading Koo is about as wise as buying an outdoor hockey rink in Arizona. He's your SP1 tonight.
Your SP2? That's a little tougher. I like Ki Young Im and David Buchanan. However, they are not only facing off against each other but furthermore, their teams have been hitting the ball well lately. Which brings us to Seung Won Moon. Allow me to repeat exactly what I said yesterday:
The Wyverns don't usually give their starters a ton of run support, but Seung Won Moon ($8100) is my favorite play of the remaining options. He's got six losses already but I think he gets the W tonight. First off, he has the best match-up against the Eagles which only vaguely resemble a professional baseball team. In addition to taking on the worst team, Seung Won Moon has solid numbers across the board. He's averaging more than five strikeouts a game. He has three straight quality starts and all but one of his last nine starts have been a QS. Throw in his solid 3.30 ERA and 1.14 WHIP and you can see why he's the easy play tonight.
Moon and Koo will be highly owned. Looking for someone who won't? Try Chang Jae Lee ($4000) who has not pitched in the KBO since 2016. However, he had a K/9 of 8.48 that year and an even higher 8.73 k/9 the previous year. It's very possible we see Min Ho Lee get the start for LG tonight. And if Min Ho Lee starts, he's a great contrarian play. But he's twice as much as Chang Jae Lee and LG has been very creative with whom starts any given night. Chang Jae Lee could be a very sneaky play if you're looking to go that route.
Other starters to consider are:
If you are only playing one or two lineups, don't even read this part. Go with the guys above. But for those of you playing double-digit lineups in GPPs, I can understand if you want a couple of other options. Understand this section will be shorter than usual, but I can think of worse things than going with the two options below: unlike most slates, I can make an argument for nearly every pitcher tonight. But here are three I like better than the others.
- David Buchanan ($8800) has been on a roll lately, giving his owners 17 or more DKFPs in his last four starts. Those performances have left him with a very solid 8-4 record, 3.36 ERA and 1.14 WHIP, and 57 Ks. In the unlikely chance that Koo's game gets rained out, I would have no issue with someone pairing Buchanan with one of the starters above.
- Or for the same price, you could go with Ki Young Im ($8800). He hasn't been as hot as Buchanan, but Samsung has far less hitting depth than KIA. Im has a solid 51Ks and 3.57 ERA. Again, I definitely prefer the options above. But if you really want to play maverick, either Im or Buchanan are not bad horses to ride when you head off the trail.
KBO Top Hitter Stacks
So, with limited pitching options tonight, who do we stack? It's deja-vu all over again, but I'm going to start by suggesting the SK Wyverns.
SK Wyverns
I admit it--this section is copied/pasted from yesterday, but nothing that has happened in the last 24 hours makes it less true:
I like Warwick Saupold, I really do. But he just can't seem to get on track this year and until he does, I will be stacking against him. He has given up four or more runs his last four starts and I don't see tonight being any different. Saupold will strike a few Wyverns out, you can bank on that. But his 4.67 ERA and 1.40 WHIP is screaming starting your Wyverns.
Any SK stack starts with Jeong Choi ($5800), who last put up a donut on July 7th. He is the Wyverns best player by far with his 13 HRs, five stolen bases, and solid .285 batting average. He also has an insane 1.167 OPS over his last ten games. If you are going to play Wyverns, you have to start Choi tonight.
Jeong Choi snuck this one over the LF wall today for his 347th career homer, 3rd-most all-time in the #KBO and only 4 behind 2nd-place Joon-hyuk Yang. This is his 16th (!) season with the SK Wyverns. pic.twitter.com/9aaPZRa4Tz
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) July 14, 2020
Jamie Romak ($4600) is a very streaky player and don't be surprised if he gives you nothing. You should also not be surprised if he crushes the ball tonight as he does have 13 HRs, two of which have come in the last week. Dong Min Han ($3900) also has two homers in the last week and is always a threat to go long. Unlike Choi and Romak, Han also brings the LvR advantage to the plate tonight. If you want someone seeing the ball really well, Joon Woo Choi ($2700) also has the LvR advantage and makes for a nice value play at second base as he has hit .343 over his last ten games.
Or if you like playing matchups, consider the LG Twins tonight.
LG Twins
The Twins will be facing right-hander Young Ha Lee, who has a losing record and a 5.96 ERA. Not only that, only once in his last seven games has he given up less than four runs. And two of those games include a 7-run drubbing. Drooling yet?
I'd start my stack with former Oriole and left-handed outfielder Hyun Soo Kim ($4600).
Yeah, the Orioles open the 2020 season today...
...BUT FIRST, we celebrate former Oriole Hyun-soo Kim’s 13th HR of the #KBO season for the #LGTwins! @MyKBO pic.twitter.com/ZVg4z6nrJK
— Connor Newcomb (@ConnorNewcomb_) July 24, 2020
Not only does Kim have 13 dingers and a .344 average, but he's also been red hot lately. He has three homers since the middle of last week and has a 1.225 OPS over his last ten games. As I often do when I suggest the left-handed Kim, I am recommending the left-handed SS Ji Hwan Oh ($4400) as well. He might not be quite as scorching as Kim, but he too has been hot lately with a 1.038 OPS over his last ten games. The left-handed Roberto Ramos has been cold lately, but it has helped bring his salary down to a palatable $4700. He did go long just three games ago and is still tied for third in the league with 17 homers. 3B Min Sung Kim ($3000) has also been hot lately as well. He doesn't provide much in the power department but is hitting .361 over his last ten games.
I was going to give you just two. As I said yesterday, I try very hard to not stack the Lotte Giants. They are no juggernaut, but I just can't stay away. This is probably a situation where the parts are greater than the whole. However, once again, I like them as a stack again tonight.
Lotte Giants
The Giants are scheduled to face left-hander Jae Woong Kim, who has all of one start under his belt this season. And that start did not go really well either. Any pitcher with a 1.60 WHIP is a team I will happily stack against. The Giants puts up half a dozen runs last night. They could easily match or surpass that again tonight. Interestingly, nearly all of the salaries for the Giants went down, making them even more attractive tonight. Most Giants stack starts with right-hander Dae Ho Lee who is only $3900 but has 11 homers and is hitting .309 the season. Ah Seop Son ($3900) doesn't have quite the power of Lee, but Son has a .345 average. I like both 2B options, and wouldn't be shocked if both Dixon Machado ($4000) and Chi Hong An ($3000) contribute to a run-barrage tonight. Of course, Jun Woo Jeon ($4200) and his 13 homers is the big bat you'll want from Lotte.
Other stacks/hitters to consider:
- Of course, you can always go with the usual chalky Doosan Bears and their left-handed bats against right-hander Ming Ho Lee. Jose Fernandez, Jae Hwan Kim, and Jae Il Oh are all left-handed and yeah, they're good. Depending on your budget, I might stick a few of the right-handed Bears in there too!
- The chalkiest stack however might be the Dinos. They are facing right-hander Min Soo Kim and his 6.33 ERA and 1.90 WHIP. That includes his last outing when he surrendered six runs to the Eagles, who can't even hold a candle to the firepower the Dinos have. The Dinos, especially their left-handed bats, are very expensive. But if you can somehow afford 'em, play 'em!
Good luck in your KBO DFS lineups tonight!
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